Introduced in 1895. Discontinued in 1907. Tangent No. 1 is an attractive decorative back design that is easiest to find in its US8d iteration. Scarce in US8b and hard to find in US8c.

The two cards shown on the top of the page (lefthand side on a laptop), featuring a larger wheel in the center of the card, represent a variant of Tangent No. 1 that was discovered very recently. I shall call it Tangent No. 1a. A comparison of the two designs can be found below. Interesting to note that the wings on the wheel in the two different versions face opposite directions; it’s the first time I’ve seen that happen when a Bicycle design has been revised.

Also pictured below is a September 1895 promotional advertisement from a trade journal, in which the USPC announces three new back designs, “Model,” “Racer,” and “Tangent.” The rare  Tangent No. 1a is pictured, which leads me to conclude that this was the earliest version of the back design published (Hochman US8b). The design was most certainly revised before the US8d release.

Interestingly, this same advertisement shows the standard version of Racer No. 1, which we now believe to be the second iteration of that back design. See the Racer No. 1 page for more information about that back design.